


Jellicle Origins

by MJ1999



Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:28:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25154716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MJ1999/pseuds/MJ1999
Summary: This is a series of short stories I've written using my headcanons about the Cats characters, detailing what their early lives were like and how they came to be a part of the Jellicle tribe if they weren't already born into it.
Relationships: Demeter/Macavity (Cats), Demeter/Munkustrap (Cats), Mr. Mistoffelees/Rum Tum Tugger (Cats), Old Deuteronomy/Grizabella
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. The Deuteronomy Family

Old Deuteronomy, the leader of the tribe, is the father of three cats. Macavity, the eldest, Munkustrap, the middle child, and Tugger, the baby of the family.

Munkustrap and Tugger’s biological mother is Grizabella. Though she isn’t Macavity’s bio mother, she loved him and treated him like her own sons, as his mother died while giving birth to him. Despite this, Macavity always felt left out and unloved. He was definitely loved, but Old Deuteronomy wasn’t very good at showing it, though he did try. This led Macavity to act out for attention, lying and cheating to get what he wants. It’s how his manipulative behaviour started.

When he had matured to adulthood, Tugger was a kitten, and Munk was an adolescent, a ball came and Old Deuteronomy was to make an important announcement. Macavity was sure this was his crowning as the future heir to the position of Jellicle leader. But instead, Old Deuteronomy named Munkustrap his heir, for his bravery, loyalty, responsibility, and overall kindness to all. It was decided that he would make a fine leader someday. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Earlier in the night, Macavity had been considering moving on from the tribe, going off to start his own tribe, his own family, but he wasn’t sure. This solidified that decision. He didn’t leave with any malicious intent. He didn’t intend to hurt anyone, but in the years he was gone, the streets were cruel to him, and they hardened him into the criminal he is today. He felt like the whole world was against him, _including_ his family.

The only cat who he felt truly cared for him was Grizabella, who left the tribe with him, to support her stepson. This was why she was shunned by the tribe. She left her family, her two sons, for Macavity. After Grizabella left, Tugger became resentful of her, as he, being a kitten, didn’t understand why his mother was suddenly leaving him, his brother, and his father.

Munkustrap didn’t hate Grizabella, but he also didn’t handle her leaving well. As he grew up, he was told by the older cats that she was bad for abandoning the tribe, and he felt shame that he still cared for her. This is why he seemed to be protecting her from the other cats during Grizabella the Glamour Cat, but he still acted wary and apprehensive. He _wanted_ to accept her, but he knew that he had a duty to protect the tribe, and the years of having the idea of Grizabella being bad drilled into his head got to him, making him doubt his own convictions about her. It made him think, “Maybe she _is_ dangerous”.

Old Deuteronomy never hated Grizabella. He wasn’t even angry with her. He was heartbroken when she left, of course, but he was also happy that Macavity would have someone to support him while he was away from the safety of the tribe. He tried to teach his children to love and respect her despite what she did, but with them spending so much time around the other cats, they heard too much gossip and propaganda about her. It actually hurt him very much to see the cats treat her so coldly at the ball in the show, because he was still in love with her after all those years.

Eventually, the junkyard became such a reminder of Grizabella, that when Tugger and Munk were old enough to take care of themselves, he started spending less and less time in the junkyard, eventually only returning every year for the ball, though Tugger and Munk would visit him often in the little cat house the town built for him at the vicarage where he lives. The vicar would actually treat him like family, even going so far as to brew him a dish of peppermint tea now and again, as peppermint tea is safe for cats to drink. Munk often liked to join his father for tea on chilly afternoons.

  
Going back to the topic of Macavity again, when Tugger was a kitten, he idolized Macavity. He wanted to be just like his big brother, with his confidence, suave nature, the ability to make _any_ queen swoon. As he grew up, he tried to mimic the positive traits he saw in Macavity. This is why Demeter is so freaked out during Tugger’s number in the show. Having been used and hurt by Macavity, she saw so much of the tom in Tugger. It bordered on her being almost _afraid_ of Tugger. She knew Tugger would never hurt her, but she couldn’t help feeling anxious around him.


	2. Demeter and Jemima

Demeter wasn’t always a part of the Jellicle tribe. She met Macavity when she was wandering about one day with her younger sister Bombalurina. Being spoilt house cats, they were naive and trusted him. He took their trust and used it to his advantage. Eventually, Demeter had enough and planned an escape from him. She met an old cat who instructed her to seek help from the Jellicle tribe. That they would protect her and her sister from Macavity. That cat was Grizabella. This is why Demeter and Bombalurina don’t show disdain towards Grizabella in the show. Only slight fear. She remembered that Grizabella helped her, but after the things she heard from the tribe, she didn’t know _ what  _ to think of the old queen.

After Demeter had been with the tribe for a month, she had grown very close to Munkustrap. One day, she had a scary realization. She could tell. She was pregnant. She knew for a  _ fact _ that it was Macavity’s. She was terrified that the tribe would shun her, or her kitten, so she confided in Munkustrap about it. Understanding her plight, Munkustrap offered to tell the tribe that  _ he  _ was the kitten’s father. This began a bond that Demeter and Munkustrap would share that would soon develop into love, and when Jemima was born, he treated her just as he would his own biological child.


	3. The Magical Twins

Bustopher Jones was not always a Jellicle. He spent his time far away from the junkyard. But when his mate died giving birth to a litter of two kittens, Quaxo and Mistoffelees, he needed help. The kittens had magical abilities, and as you can imagine, magical kittens are not easy to handle.

He was approached by Macavity, who had witnessed the twins’ peculiar abilities. The only magical cat he had seen before was himself. He saw this as a chance for even more power. He offered to help Bustopher with his sons, even teach them to control their powers. Being from high-class society, Bustopher Jones was unaware of this master criminal or the atrocities he had committed, so he happily accepted. This began the point in Mistoffelees and Quaxo’s life where they became Macavity’s magical apprentices.

As they grew up, Mistoffelees displayed wondrous abilities! Conjuring, disappearing acts, illusions! He could even seemingly be in two places at once! Quaxo, on the other hand, possessed more psychic abilities, such as telekinesis and telepathy. He could read minds, move objects with his own, and even send messages to the minds of others. On top of this, both toms could sense energy in the world around them, and seemed to possess some sort of soothsaying abilities. Not exactly seeing into the future, but a very powerful intuition that was almost _always_ right.

They spent their days with their father, going about his daily activities, feasting at high-class establishments on leftovers given to them by the cooks, visits to the tomb, and going to the theatre. Their nights, however, were spent under strict training with Macavity. He intended to raise them to become like him and use their powers for his own personal gain, to satisfy his hunger for power. He wanted to have them study more underhanded forms of magic, have them reading tomes that told of dark magic such as necromancy and mind control. The brothers, however, had not an interest in manipulating others to their will as Macavity did. They did as they were told, however, as kittens, because they didn’t know any better. Bustopher Jones was unaware of what his sons were learning, so he hadn’t the ability to stop it.

As the twins aged, they began to realize that the things they were studying didn’t seem quite right. Not quite _moral_. This was right around the time when Mistoffelees met The Rum Tum Tugger.

Mistoffelees was taking a walk along The River Thames when he came across the leonine tom scavenging for food in a trash can. He found it peculiar that such a well-groomed tom with a nice collar would be scrounging around in the trash for food, as he _must_ have an owner. He began to speak to the bigger cat and grew to like him. One night, he was telling Quaxo of his time with Tugger when Macavity overheard. In anger and fear of someday having to confront the family who he felt so unloved by, he lashed out, screaming at Mistoffelees never to talk to him. But Mistoffelees didn’t listen. Something about Tugger made him feel safe. And Macavity just… _Didn’t_. He had already been thinking of getting away from Macavity, but meeting Tugger sealed the deal. He didn’t want to spend time around someone who made him learn all of this evil magic. So one evening he confronted his father and told him of what Macavity was teaching them. From there, he, his brother, and their father went to find Tugger once again. He was where he always was, waiting for Mistoffelees to take their nightly walk.

Tugger had told Mistoffelees of the Jellicle tribe during their time together. It sounded so nice, and safe, and he wanted to be a part of that family so badly. So Tugger showed the three tuxedo cats the way and introduced them to the tribe.

Bustopher Jones felt that Mistoffelees and Quaxo were old enough to be on their own now, so he opted to continue his life elsewhere. Though he still came around from time to time to visit his sons and tell of his adventures in the city. What plays he saw, the food he tried, and he would sometimes bring some fancy food back for them and the rest of the tribe. He grew to be very respected among the tribe, due to him being very knowledgeable on the many different sources of food throughout the city.

When the tribe first met Mistoffelees and Quaxo, they were apprehensive to accept them. They were _magical_ , after all. And _Macavity_ had trained them. Would they be like _him_? Was this all just a trick to get close to the tribe? Had Macavity sent Mistoffelees and his brother as spies? Eventually, though, the tribe grew to accept the twins as two of their own. Munkustrap even went so far as to begin training Quaxo to become the tribe’s storyteller when he himself would eventually leave that role and become the Jellicle leader upon the passing of his father.

  
The tribe’s acceptance of the brothers and their magic grew even more after Mistoffelees rescued Old Deuteronomy from Macavity’s clutches. From then on, there was no doubt in their minds that these toms were _good_.


End file.
